held up, headway over 5f out, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out
led, ridden and headed over 2f out, edged right and weakened over 1f out
chased leaders, lost place after 1f, soon behind
chased leader, ridden over 3f out, weakened 2f out
chased leaders, led over 2f out, ridden clear over 1f out, ran on
in touch, ridden over 3f out, went 2nd over 1f out, no chance with winner
held up, ridden over 4f out, soon weakened
towards rear, ridden over 4f out, soon weakened
A good prize on offer here and we'll side with Lundys Lane ahead of Hail The Chief and Midshipman. The Clive Brittain-trained selection was second in the Craven Stakes last April and then went on to finish third in the Italian Derby, which, of course, is run over 12 furlongs. He handles this shorter trip well and, in first-time blinkers and with Eddie Ahern booked, can make a bold show from the front despite a poor effort on this surface on his only try. . Hail The Chief won a valuable Grade 2 handicap in the USA in 2002 and, being a three-time course and distance winner, comes firmly into the equation now back in Britain and racing on a favoured surface. Three-time German winner Action Fighter has yet to translate that form to Britain, while First Maite - a course winner and winner of 16 races in total - has something to find on balance. A similar comment applies to Golden Chalice, who is also unproven on all-weather surfaces. Lakota Brave finished ahead of the selection at Wolverhampton last time and is actually better off at the weights today so we realise that there will be plenty of people opposing our view on this contest. Midshipman has had very little racing over the last year or so while Mi Odds has a bit to find on overall form. This brings us back to Lundys Lane, who just gets the call over Hail The Chief.